Best
by thefirstservant
Summary: Scorpius thinks Dominique is unnerving. Unnerving, unnattainable. Beautiful. But is that what he wants?


Honestly, she was unnerving.

Scorpius watched as Dominique Weasley shook her reddish-blonde hair out of eyes. Grimacing, she pulled a scrunchie from her pocket and tied her hair up in a high ponytail.

He found it rather fascinating, really, how girls managed to manipulate their hair up in ponytails. Maybe it was because he had no sisters and because his mother never tied up her hair, but he could never quite understand how they did it.

Well, he _usually_ found it fascinating. But even this simple action made Dominique seem intimidating, daunting, and simply unattainable.

It wasn't that she tried to be. No, not at all. In fact, people often described her as easily approachable and an amicable friend.

Heck, everyone knew that. Even Scorpius thought so, whenever he observed her quietly from a corner of the common room far, far away from the corner he, Albus, and Rose had claimed as their own. Far, far away from him.

But whenever she was there, right beside him, willing to chat and everything – well, that's when she seemed farthest away from him.

Simply unattainable.

Scorpius's mouth dried as Dominique turned, tossing her broom from one hand to the other, checking again to see if everything was in order. "Ready for your first game, Scorp?" She turned to smile at him teasingly.

Whatmore, they were on the same Quidditch team.

Scorpius swallowed. "Uh…I…Hmph." He tried not to blush as he heard Albus snicker behind him.

Oh, yes. Far, far away from him.

Thankfully, Dominique seemed to take it as a case of pre-game nerves. She patted his shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it. We were all nervous before our first games, too."

Right on cue, a ruckus started on the other side of the locker room where Albus's brother, James stood with his cousin Fred.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Who said I wasn't? Why wouldn't I be? Huh?" James's voice rose until it reached a point of hysteria, looking a little wild with nerves. As a startled Fred reached over to put a hand on his best friend's shoulder, James shook it off grimly.

"And there are some people who never grow out of the first-game nerves," Dominique said under her breath. "I better get over there before McGonagall takes away my Captain's badge for letting one of our Chasers to detonate. _Especially_ since we're playing Slytherin." She gave him a parting smile. "Anyway, good luck, Scorp! You'll do great."

And with that, she glided off to help Fred get James to start breathing properly again. Scorpius watched after her, watching as her ponytail swung back and forth and as she walked with grace and ease.

Albus chuckled quietly beside him. "Scorp and Dom, sitting in a tree, K-I- Ouch!" He doubled over as Scorpius elbowed him in the stomach.

Dominique looked up. "Stop roughhousing, boys. I need my Seeker in top shape, Scorpius," she scolded, before turning back to James.

Scorpius blushed, his cheeks turning a bright red. Albus, who had recovered far too quickly, snickered again.

"Whipped. Oh, so whipped."

"Shut up, Al," Scorpius grumbled, although he made no move to hit his friend again. He looked up cautiously at Dom and breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't heard a thing.

Scorpius turned around. He and Al weren't the only ones about to start their first Hogwarts game. It was Rose's first game as Gryffindor Keeper, too, and she sat just a little away from the boys.

Her vibrant red hair looked a little tousled, and she only had one shoe on. There were two books on the bench beside her – the huge Hogwarts, A History and the slim Quidditch Through the Ages. Both were cracked and wrinkled.

He slipped over to her side. "Hey, Rosie."

She looked up, looking a little distant and distracted. "Oh, hi, Scorp," she whispered.

Scorpius frowned. Rose never whispered. She had grown up in a Weasley-filled home, where jabbering, joking, and war cries were the norm. In fact, she was the loudest bookworm he knew."

"What's up?" he asked. "Pre-game nerves? C'mon, Rose, you've been playing with this team since you were a toddler. You'll do fine. _I'm_ the new kid on the block here."

Rose smiled but didn't answer.

Rose _always_ answered.

He tried again. Picking up Hogwarts, a History, he turned the book about in his hands.

"Why'd you bring this here, anyway? You know the newest version only dedicates three chapters to Quidditch. You know more Quidditch stories from your family then the author does."

Rose frowned. "Of course I brought it along. Hogwarts, a History has been part of every milestone in my life. I got it as a gift on my first birthday. It was sitting in my beach bag the first time I went swimming in the ocean. It was the only thing I had with me when I got lost in Knockturn Alley when I was six. The owl with my Hogwarts letter landed on top of the book. I read it again on the night before I left for Hogwarts."

She had a stubborn look on her face. "It's my good luck charm, Scorp. It's always been my good-luck charm."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "How is getting lost in Knockturn Alley good luck?"

She smiled smugly. "Simple. I got found by Uncle Harry. He didn't yell at me for wandering off and gave me ice cream instead. And all I had to do was never tell Mum and Dad that he had lost me."

He expertly raised his other eyebrow at her. Rose was back to normal again. Mission accomplished. Now, all he had to do was win the bickering war.

"Rose, you know that isn't practical. It isn't logical at all." He drawled, the perfect drawl that always got on Rose's and Al's nerves.

"How so?" she challenged, raising her head. He grinned. Rosie could never resist a good debate. Neither could he, especially against Rose, who was as smart as she was articulate.

Albus said they were both nuts.

"Because Logic goes against all kinds of luck because luck and logic roam in different circles," he said, spouting as much gibberish as he could.

Rose opened her mouth to protest, but let out a squeal as Scorpius tackled her instead, tickling her as hard as he could.

They laughed as they rolled about the Gryffindor changing room. Because Rose was as ticklish as she was smart, too.

And they only stopped when Dominique marched over to them, and ordered them not to tire themselves out before the game even began. Scorpius had blushed again, meekly standing up at once. Rose, however, took her time, laughing even as Dominique frowned at her.

"I'm fine, Dom," she said, waving her cousin away, catching her breath. From a distance, the sounds of a roaring crowd could be heard, and everyone began to prepare for the game again.

He tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, smoothing out her hair, then helped her put on her missing shoe, as Rose straightened her robes. "Thanks, Scorp," she said, smiling at him. "I needed that. All that, I mean."

He shrugged. "What are friends for?" He reached out to tug lightly on her ponytail.

She smiled again, looking like her own Rosie-self again. "You mean, _best_ friends," she corrected.

Then as he stood up again, she reached out and gave him a hug that was all Rose – warm, comfortable, confident, friendly, brave.

And she turned out the door, leaving Scorp to follow.

And leaving her books behind, too.

…

Many years later, Scorpius sat at the long white table facing the large crowd. The room was decorated with flowers and ribbons, with all the other glamorous details. He smiled at his bride. She was beautiful.

He never thought he'd ever marry her.

"Hey, Scorp!" Louis Weasley called out from the crowd, his words already a little unclear and mumbled. "Why don't you and the lovely lady describe the day for us, eh? Are you marrying a Quidditch star or just the most sought-after witch in Britain?"

Although Louis honestly sounded a little drunk, plenty of curious eyes turned to look at the stars of the celebration.

Scorpius turned to look at his bride – his wife. The best woman, the woman he loved, the woman who could sometimes scare the wits out of him, too.

But that's what great women do. And she - his _wife_- was definitely a great woman.

She smiled coyly. "Louis, all I have to say is – I'm marrying my good luck charm."

And Scorpius sat back and laughed, long and hard.

Because Rose Weasley was smart, articulate, warm, comforting.

And that was what he wanted.

His best friend – the woman he knew best and loved best.

And honestly, she was wonderful.


End file.
